Pandemic Preparedness

Dutch2

Anyone else participate in the one hour webinar put on by the American Red Cross yesterday? Best thing I got out of it was an email address: [url]www.pandemicflu.gov[/url] This site has all sorts of leads in it. It will also take you to the OSHA site to view the New Gudiance on Preparing Workplace for Influenza Pandemic that OSHA just announced yesterday.
Other than the website, mostly a lot of common sence stuff with a few good ideas to get you thinking just what your company will do if this occurs. How will you handle 40% or more of your ee's being absent? What will your schools and community government do? Is your home prepared if you or a family member must stay home due to this illness? Hopefully we will never experience this this type of a pandemic.

stilldazed

We didn't have anyone who attended the webinar, but our organization is working actively on emergency preparedness--as I presume many employers are. Since the 9/11 disaster, US in general appears to be trying to learn from prior experience and translate the learning into preparedness for the future. SARS & H1 viruses and global mobility seem to have created an international atmosphere that has to re-emphasize the need for global preparedness. Federal funding was designated in the US to state (and thus county/community) emergency preparedness (generally through emergency management services). If you haven't already, contact your local EM coordinator and get yourself invited onto whatever active team may be working. The reality is that should a disaster impact your locale, you (your organization) may need services or may have services you can offer. The EMS activity is diligently working to conduct needs assessments at local levels.

Best wishes.

AnneHa

The reality is that should a
>disaster impact your locale, you (your
>organization) may need services or may have
>services you can offer.

This is a good point. We found out that our new bookmobile with satellite capability would be a valuable asset to assist emergency personnel with communications out in the rural areas of the county. I don't think we would have considered this without having been exposed to the community meetings to which we were invited.

Anne in Ohio

awilliams

I asked Ralph Guillard, who has been working on Avian Flu issues here, to chime in on this thread. This is what Ralph had to say:

The pandemicflu.gov site is fantastic. I’m glad you pointed it out on the Forum. Another useful Web resource is [url]http://www.who.int/csr/disease/avian_influenza/en/[/url]
This site is also worth visiting, because it tracks the spread of the flu on a daily basis by offering updates on recent outbreaks and fatalities.

If you’re interested in learning more about the virus and what companies can do to prepare for an outbreak, I would recommend HR Hero’s audio conference: “Preparing for the Avian Flu: New Requirements and Legal Guidelines for Employers.” The event will take place March 8, 2007, from 10:00 a.m.-11:30 a.m. (CT). For more details, visit [url]www.hrhero.com[/url]

Ralph Gaillard
M. Lee Smith Publishers